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Reviews
Tarot (2024)
Lame characters led by weak story with little directions
The characters in the show are really predictable and boring. The teenagers are all clueless and make dumb decisions while trying to fight some super strong demons. It's hard to cheer for them because they just argue over silly stuff instead of teaming up to beat the bad guys.
For instance, there's a scene where their car breaks down, and instead of staying together, one girl decides to run off into the dark alone. And then this Asian guy goes back to his room alone even though 3 of his friends are already dead.
There's also this old lady who claims she's been fighting demons forever, but she ends up dead within minutes of being on screen.
The characters' actions are so dumb that it's hard to care about them. There are a few scary moments with the demons, but overall, the show feels rushed and doesn't really deliver.
The Strays (2023)
A movie that should have been a drama instead of horror
The horror elements are pretty much elementary level. The plot suits more of a drama story than horror. The antagonist were so badly written and their motivation were so unknown that their actions didn't carry any weight. The acted more like psychotic clowns especially Abigael with her over the top laughters. The finale on the home invasion was so comical I think chatgpt would have come out with better scenes and dialogues.
In summary, a mom that fail her kids in a previous marriage and they come looking for her 30 years later to get some redemption but ended acting like clowns to torment a family without the need for weapons.
Outlast (2023)
Bad reviews here does not tell the full story
I see the many comments here stating the villains as they reason they disliked the show. Yes Jill, Amber and Justin to a certain extend are the villains trying to take down players using underhand methods. I don't enjoy their methods but it is certainly part of the game. I don't see people complaining about Survivor, where there is only one winner and most cheat, lie, blindside and manipulate to win the game as well. At the end of the day, this is a game show and people will do what is necessary to win. People enjoy this element which is why Survivor is now in their 20+ seasons or more. The good guy don't usually win reality gameshow like this. If viewers want a rosy picture of good behaviors then they are not facing the reality in our world. Just like in real life, there are many people with bad intention who are out to just gain profits from their selfish and despicable conduct. So I don't see a problem with the villains. The producer should not be blamed as they are showcasing what people will do in real world situations. They show both good and bad of people. My only two complains are there many occasions where it seems scripted with dramatic shots and that the pace of the show is way too slow and boring. Better editing could have cut the show into 4-5 episodes instead of 8. Overall the film quality were good cinematically, but maybe too good to be believed as truly genuine.
Physical: 100 (2023)
Slow, boring and excessive editing.
Game took ages to get going with heavy emphasis on over the top dramatization on sound effect and the many ridiculous reaction from other contestants. Too many meaningless repetitions on the same scene from different angles that really slow down the action. The first 3 games on show are really boring and does not bring out the many talents available. The game is more about brute strength and physical endurance than anything strategic or requiring intelligence. Contestants are mostly plain and egoistic without much likable characters. It is a disappointment considering how many talents from military special ops to Olympic champions are wasted.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Way better that most are complaining
Those complaining that there are too much story are probably the same people that will complain when there are too much jump scare. The story is intriguing and well played out. The scares are actually much more intense and realistic due to the excellent story telling. Unlike many horrors, you were actually worried for the warrens as they felt vulnerable to a stronger force.
23:59 (2011)
Army horror turn lame
As a Singaporean who had served in the army before. I went in to experience the type of movie that can bring back the memories and also some of the folklore of Army horror stories.
I came out of this movie with nothing. Yes, Nothing. The whole movie wasn't even relatable to my army days training. It has had the potential with its realistic setting, but ultimately, the director just wasn't that good at telling a story.
Firstly, we were introduced with a few characters in the army bunk at night, with one guy telling about some horror story that happened in that island. The characters were obnoxious, unrelatable and just bring out the stereotype of a bully in camp, a coward and a few nice who cant be bother with whats happening in the bunk and do nothing.
Basically the entire movie only revolved around 5 recruits and one sergeant. They had the entire bunk filled with extras who dont have much lines at all. In a sense, this makes the entire movie unrealistic, as there were many scenes in the movie where the 5 recruits were always away separated from the bulk of the platoon.
Lets talk about the road march in the jungle, it was probably a bad try at a real road march training in the army. Why would members of the road march start splitting up into literally isolated situations is beyond my belief. There was a scene in which the IC had to run all the way back to no mans land to search for the sergeant. Yes, that sergeant is so far back alone that the IC has to go look for him in the dark.
That scene in which they made a headcount in the dark as well, was quite frankly a terrible attempt. I think "incredible tales did a better job." And that scene was just did with 5 recruits in pretty much visible lighting. I understand the director was trying to let his viewers see the entire play of it and trying to make it like the actors could not see each other when they did the headcount. But seriously, that was a really bad attempt. No one does headcount with 5 person, maybe a platoon of 30, with an extra headcount would have made it more realistic and scary.
Overall, a very budget movie, who can afford to bring in Mark Lee and those extras, but chose to just focus the movie around a small group in an Army situation just makes no sense. The scares are also few are scarce.
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